#WrestleBuenosAires

USA Men’s Freestyle Becomes First Team in History to Win Every Pan Am Weight

Sunday, April 21, 2019 - 23:57 By Taylor Miller

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The United States won all eight available gold medals on Sunday night at the 2019 Pan American Championships. With the U.S. winning the first two men’s freestyle weights yesterday, it becomes the first time in history that a team has won every gold in a specific style at the Pan Am Championships.

In the team scoring, USA collected 250 points, followed by Canada with 129 points and Cuba with 115 points.

The United States won six of its eight finals by tech fall.

Leading the way was 2018 World champion David TAYLOR (USA), who earned the Outstanding Wrestler award after a strong performance at 86 kg.

In the finals, Taylor defeated Pedro CEBALLOS FUENTES (VEN) with a 10-0 shut out to snatch his second-straight Pan Am title.

Also winning his second in a row was two-time World bronze medalist Nick GWIAZDOWSKI (USA) at 125 kg, who scored a 10-0 win against Korey JARVIS (CAN).

Four-time World champion and 2012 Olympic champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) won his third-career Pan Am title on Sunday.

In an entertaining battle with 2015 Pan Am silver medalist Jevon BALFOUR (CAN), Burroughs pulled out a 7-0 win for the crown at 74 kg.

Kyle SNYDER (USA), 2016 Olympic champion and two-time World champion, also earned his second Pan Am title, winning by injury default over Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB) at 97 kg.

Others claiming golds for the USA were Josh RODRIGUEZ at 57 kg, Joe COLON at 61 kg, Colton MCCRYSTAL at 65 kg and Anthony ASHNAULT at 70 kg.

Final team standings
1. USA – 250
2. Canada – 129
3. Cuba – 115
4. Puerto Rico – 72
5. Venezuela – 68
6. Argentina – 53
7. Colombia – 48
8. Brazil – 41
9. Dominican Republic – 37
10. Peru – 37

Final results

57 kg
GOLD - Joshua RODRIGUEZ (USA) TF Oscar TIGREROS URBANO (COL), 10-0
BRONZE - Pedro MEJIAS RODRIGUEZ (VEN) TF Daniel ALVES DO NASCIMENTO (BRA), 10-0
BRONZE –  Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA (CUB) dec. Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN), 4-0

61 kg
GOLD – Joe COLON (USA)
SILVER – Yowlys BONNE RODRIGUEZ (CUB)
BRONZE – Scott SCHILLER (CAN)

65 kg
GOLD - Colton MCCRYSTAL (USA) TF Damian SOLENZAL LOPEZ (CUB), 12-1
BRONZE - Mauricio SANCHEZ SALTOS (ECU) dec. Daniel BRIOSO (DOM), 9-5
BRONZE – Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG) TF Sixto AUCCAPINA PEDRAGAS (PER), 16-5

70 kg
GOLD - Anthony ASHNAULT (USA)
SILVER - Nicholas ROWE (CAN)
BRONZE - Mitchel TAIPE DUANAMA (PER)

74 kg
GOLD - Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) dec. Jevon BALFOUR (CAN), 7-0
BRONZE - Franklin GOMEZ MATOS (PUR) TF Adonis ARROYO (VEN), 10-0
BRONZE –  Julio RODRIGUEZ ROMERO (DOM) TF Jorge DESPAIGNE LAGAR (CUB), 10-0

86 kg
GOLD - David TAYLOR III (USA) TF Pedro CEBALLOS FUENTES (VEN), 10-0
BRONZE - Lazaro HERNANDEZ LUIS (CUB) TF Meruzhan NIKOYAN (ARG), 10-0
BRONZE – Alexander MOORE (CAN) TF Christian ANGUIANO FLORES (MEX), 11-0

97 kg
GOLD - Kyle SNYDER (USA) df. Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB), injury default
BRONZE - Jose DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN) TF Maxwell LACEY GARITA (CRC), 10-0
BRONZE – Evan RAMOS (PUR) dec. Jordan STEEN (CAN), 8-5

125 kg
GOLD - Nicholas GWIAZDOWSKI (USA) TF Korey JARVIS (CAN), 10-0
BRONZE - Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) df. Eduardo GARCIA BETANZOS (MEX), fall
BRONZE - Antoine BRAGA ABOU JAOUDE (BRA) TF Jorge MEDINA ARROYO (ECU), 12-1

 

#development

South Africa Advances National Wrestling System with DNSS Phase 2

Thursday, April 9, 2026 - 07:25 By United World Wrestling Press

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PRETORIA, South Africa (April 8) -- South Africa has reached a decisive milestone in its long-term wrestling development strategy with the successful implementation of Phase 2 of the Development of National Sport System (DNSS) programme, delivered in collaboration with United World Wrestling (UWW) and supported by Olympic Solidarity.

Following the diagnostic and mapping phase conducted earlier, Phase 2 marks a clear transition from analysis to structured implementation, laying the foundation for a sustainable and internationally aligned wrestling system.

Led by UWW Development Officer Vincent AKA, in close cooperation with the South African Wrestling Federation (SAWF), the National Head Coach, Markus DEKKER and Provincial Coordinators, the programme was deployed across multiple provinces through a structured 10-day intervention from March 2 to 13. 

Activities were conducted in key locations including:

· LPWA (Ion Bachu)
· CGWA (Ruiter)
· NGWA (Menlo Park Hall)
· Frank Joubert Tournament (Menlo Park Hall)

This nationwide approach ensured direct engagement with provincial structures, strengthening alignment between national leadership and local associations while promoting inclusive development across the country.

From Talent Identification to System Building

Unlike traditional training camps, DNSS Phase 2 focused on identifying talent and building long-term development systems. Wrestlers and coaches from all age categories -- U13, U15, U17, U20, and Senior -- were actively involved, ensuring a complete pathway approach.

Provincial visits and stakeholder meetings played a key role in assessing facilities and operational structures, strengthening coordination between SAWF and provinces, and identifying emerging wrestlers.

Building Athlete Pipeline

A training camp for different provinces brought together wrestler to consolidate talent identified during Phase 1 and introduce standardized training methodologies.

The training camp included technical sessions, physical conditioning, match simulations and wrestling. The initiative contributed to the creation of an updated national prospect and the foundation of a structured athlete monitoring system.

South Africa

Beach Wrestling Gains Momentum

As part of the DNSS activities, a Beach Wrestling training session in Roodepoort highlighted the programme’s expanding impact.

During the visit, Aka led a specialized session, sharing advanced technical insights adapted to beach wrestling. It included stance and balance adjustments, grip and control techniques, and movement adaptation on sand.

The training programme comes at a crucial time, as South African athletes prepare for African Beach Wrestling Championships in Alexandria, Egypt and other international tournaments.